PALIN MITENK BLOG

By Nicole Lampert

Bag man: Victoria Beckham in New York last week with her helper


Like most celebrities, Victoria Beckham has to combine a hectic schedule with looking fabulous all the time.

Whether it be jetting around the world on private planes or doing the school run, rarely is she seen in anything less than a designer dress and six-inch heels.

So if Madam Beckham requires just a teeny bit of help with, say, holding her handbag, or filling her shopping basket while she points out the food she fancies, who can blame her?

So what if, after a hard day's shopping or orchestrating designers at her dress company, there are staff on hand at her Los Angeles home to cut up her dinner, run her bath and light scented candles to relax her?


Always the most high maintenance of the Spice Girls - she was nicknamed Posh because she always preferred to wear Prada while the others were happy with High Street offerings - you could say that Victoria is embracing La La land and all its excesses with some vigour.

Victoria, who recently turned 36, has ten full-time members of staff, including a housekeeper, butler, two chefs (one for the boys and another for Victoria and David when they entertain), several nannies and cleaners, a chauffeur and a personal assistant.

Then there are all the other staff with less full-time duties. There are those for the house, including an army of gardeners, a florist (Victoria hates to see anything resembling a dead flower), someone to sort out her wardrobe and dust her collection of shoes, as well as a large rota of security guards.

Also on the payroll are Victoria's father, Tony Adams, who is in charge of maintenance and security at the Beckhams' three homes in LA, England and the South of France, and her mother, Jackie, who ensures everything runs smoothly. Her sister, Louise, often helps with Victoria's three boys.






Busier than ever: Victoria was recently signed up as a face of LG phones with her friend, Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria


'We don't have a nanny or a housekeeper, and I only have a cleaner for one hour each week,' she claimed. 'I finish work and go home. I cook the dinner. I run into Tesco and do the housework in the evening.'

Then, she was living in Britain where we like our celebrities to be humble and down to earth.

So now there is no pretence; living in the U.S. has allowed her to unleash her inner diva. Earlier this week Victoria was pictured in New York with a flunky carrying both her handbag and her shopping basket.

Actually, the handbag incident was more farce than servitude because her male companion, who is helping with her fashion work, thought she had left the bag in her car by accident.

What he clearly did not know was that aside from choosing her own clothes, the other thing Victoria always does is carry her precious Hermes Birkin bag - she has a £1.5million collection of the bags.

There is no such excuse for the shopping basket - pictures show the man humbly holding it up while Victoria points at items she would like him to put in it.

It is far from the only example of Victoria showing diva-ish tendencies to match those of Hollywood's most demanding stars. Her entourage may be relatively small by their standards, but she is learning fast.

Sources tell me that one typical diva trait she has is to become obsessed by the thread count of sheets while visiting hotels around the world. Only the best will do, and the bed linen always has to be white.


Taking a back seat: Injured husband David has been on homework duties with sons Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz


According to one report, while staying in Spain recently, she even insisted that a room at the ME Madrid hotel was totally changed for her needs.

'Her assistant asked that her suite have only white colours in it,' a source explained. 'White candles, roses and decorations were placed in the room to complement the sheets.'

When visiting her father-in-law, Ted Beckham, when he was hospitalised last year, she turned down a cup of tea after discovering the boiled water had come straight from the tap rather than a bottle.

Sources also reveal that Victoria refuses to have loose change on her for parking meters.

'Victoria does not like to carry change in her purse,' said the source. 'She thinks it's too heavy and is often dirty. She likes keeping her hands clean.'

Meanwhile, on the couple's trip to New York this week, while buying art for their home, they even had someone accompany them with a pen and paper to note down their thoughts.

As well as living in LA, sources relate this change to Victoria's very real success as a fashion mogul.

For the first time, she is performing well on her own terms. Although the Spice Girls won worldwide fame and sold 52 million albums, Posh's solo career quickly flopped.

In Britain she was little more than the most famous and skinniest of the WAGs - with husband David far more respected for his very real footballing skill. And she was quickly being caught up by Cheryl Cole.

But in Los Angeles Victoria has clawed her way to the very top. She is a genuine style icon and A-list celebrities love her clothes. Real success has given her a confidence which is both good and bad.

One friend, who has known both David and Victoria for many years, tells me that the change has not necessarily been for the better.

'She's obsessed with her fashion line and she really does work hard for it, so good luck to her,' says the source.

'But its success really has brought out the diva in her and she has changed. She seems like a much harder person, and she is certainly a lot more demanding.

'She walks around as though she is exhausted, that life is so tough, and I was astounded when I saw that she even has someone take her shoes off for her. She would have laughed at that sort of thing before.'

In contrast, the source adds, David, 35 yesterday, has remained the simpler creature he always was. A famous sufferer of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), he always folds up his clothes when he has finished with them.

He has even been known to run the vacuum cleaner around as he is so obsessed with cleanliness. He will also often drive himself - Victoria prefers to have the chauffeur.

An old-fashioned Essex boy, David would happily return to the UK after seeing out his Los Angeles Galaxy contract. His wife does not agree, and that remains a source of tension.

Because after being the dominant force in their relationship before Victoria's recent success, David is having to learn to take a back seat.

The England player, who is recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon, has been on homework duties with the kids while his wife jets around the world getting ready for the unveiling of her latest collection.

While he grows slowly more miserable - his injury is not healing as well as he had hoped, and he could be out of the game for up to eight months - she is busier than ever.

As well as her clothing range to promote, she was recently signed up as a face of LG phones with her friend, Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria.

Ironically, his neediness appears only to be making Victoria worse when it comes to being demanding.

'She's not used to having him around all the time, and he is getting really down and depressed,' said an LA source.

'It's stressing Victoria out and it seems like she needs more support than ever. Even though she's still funny and quirky, she seems to have got more demanding and her staff were recently surprised when they were asked to cut up a piece of chicken breast in the kitchen for her.'

Whatever next? Watch out, Mariah Carey and J Lo - it looks like there's a new diva in town.

source: dailymail